3 Year old Tmax developer unopened, stored in dark - still good?

[Mudman]

I got tired of waiting for places around me to develop my B&W so I've decided to quit being lazy and use my developing kit that I have. One question though my hypo clear, wetting agent (its from Zone Vi, I'm pretty sure its a photo flo knockoff) and Tmax developer are from 2004 - is all of this still good or should I pick up a new bottle? All unopened.

Thanks,
Eric

 

[charjohncarter]

That stuff is so expensive now you had better try it. Even if it is a test.

 

[Mudman]

I can get it for $10.00, to make a gallon, while expensive, if it saves my negs, than I'll get new stuff.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I'd replace the developer because liquid developers have a relatively short shelf life (Rodinal being the exception, that stuff lasts for years). The hypo clear you have is a powder isn't it? If so it will be ok, unless you dissolved it in water and kept it all those years. The photo flo stuff is fine to use. It does not go bad. I wouldn't use old Tmax Developer though. Like the last poster said, its like $10 a bottle...that's not really a huge amount of money to avoid ruining your film. Dilute it 1+7 instead of 1+4 if you wanna save money. That's how I use Tmax Developer with Tmax 400 (10 minutes at 75 degrees, EI 400) and I like the results.

 

[feenej]

My lab gave me some for free since it was so old. Worked great.

 

[wpb]

Unlike milk, that is unusable after the date, film developer will just be less potent. Unopened it should last a very long time but I would still shoot a roll of film under controlled conditions and test it. Chances are it is just fine, as slight changes in temperature, dilution (of the working solution) and agitation effect the film more than old developer in most cases. Opened and/or not tightly sealed is more prone to problems. I have never had a problem with hypo clear no matter how old.

 

[Ronald M]

It may be less potent and a test may not resolve the issue as it can age very rapidly after opening. That was the case with some undated Xtol and it was the last straw for that stuff. It went from fine to almost worthless in a week.